Media Production Specialists

One of the challenges for myself as a photographer and a male is to get more confidence with working in situations that can be "dangerous" in career and personal perception. I set myself a goal to move past one of these points by doing a nude shoot. The issues around this should be obvious. If done wrong, it can be disastrous professionally and personally. There are always men around that want to photograph beautiful woman in the buff and some can be very unethical. I must admit that I was shit scared of doing this shoot. It took me 8 months of doubting myself, fearing other people's comments and gossip plus generally trying to find the courage to move past the barrier in my head. Luckily I have a network of friends and a very supportive partner who trusts and believes in me and when I finally ask Erin to do a shoot it was some of the most fun I have had in ages.

A few tips for people that want to move into this area of photography from my limited experience.

Be respectful of the model and tell them exactly what you wanting to do and come to an agreement before clothes come off and even before the shoot takes place. Setting expectations makes the shoot go better and everyone starts on the same page.

Create a secure and comfortable environment. I made sure that Erin felt safe working with me and the area before we even started taking photos.

Don't publish anything without getting the model to approve it beforehand. You may already have a model release, but be polite and professional and show the model the work before everyone else. You want to make the model feel safe that you are going to be putting her image in places that are appropriate. I like to think about it as "would I like my naked image seen by x or at y".

I personally will delete any image that a model doesn't want to see published. If it's something you love, then talk it out, but in the end if the model is unhappy, then do the right thing by them.

Be professional and respectful at all times during the shoot. Don't make any sexual or suggestive remarks or comments. No touching, ever. The model is in the most vulnerable state they could potentially ever be in. They must trust you, don't ever do anything to break that trust.

Lastly, just do the best you can. As with any shoot, I want the model to be proud of the art that we have created together. This goes double with nude shoots.

We started simple.

A more dynamic look with single light source.

Playing with shallow focus to imply Erin's body.

The idea of playing with light and form unrestricted was exhilarating.